


same old story (sing it again)

by orphan_account



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-07 15:32:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "“Orpheus,” He says, “Please tell me you know Mrs. Dodds.”“Sorry, I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Orpheus looks genuinely confused, “Are you alright?”Percy is about to give up when he remembers something, “What about that tune. La la la la la la la la, or something like that.”Orpheus looks surprised. He looks at Percy for an uncomfortable amount of time before saying, “I see.” He walks away, leaving Percy with a million questions."Or: a Hadestown/Percy Jackson crossover.
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

Percy doesn’t want to be on this field trip. Going to a museum to see a bunch of Greek and Roman artifacts sounds like the definition of boring. And anyways, field trips haven’t always gone the best for him in the past.

Nancy Bobofit is picking on Grover again, throwing bits of her sandwich into his hair. Percy wants to do something to make her cut her out, but the principal had made it very clear that one more step out of line and he’d be expelled. And it’s not like he even likes Yancy, but his mom would be disappointed in him.

The bus parks. They get out and start walking around the museum. There are three chaperones on the trip. Mr. Brunner, who is pretty cool except for the fact that he always expects too much of Percy. Mrs. Dodds, who seems to live for giving Percy detention. And Orpheus, who’s Mr. Brunner’s teaching assistant.

Orpheus is kind of weird. For starters, nobody knows his last name. Percy asked him once, and he’d just smiled and started playing a song on his guitar. That’s the other thing, he doesn’t go anywhere without his guitar, which he calls a “lyre” for some reason. Percy asked him about that too, and Orpheus said it was to “put the world back in tune.” Percy had stopped asking him questions after that.

They walk through the museum, Mr. Brunner leading the tour with Orpheus next to him. They stop in front of a stele, and Mr. Brunner starts talking about it. It’s actually pretty interesting, and Percy tries to listen, but people around him are talking.

Nancy Bobofit says something stupid, and Percy is about to tell her to shut up, when Orpheus stares straight at her and says, “Are you paying attention, Nancy?” She goes quiet, and Orpheus winks at Percy before turning away.

“Mr. Jackson,” Mr. Brunner says, he points to the stele, “Would you please tell us about what’s happening here.”

Percy looks at it before realizing that it’s showing Kronos eating his kids. He tells Mr. Brunner this and tries to ignore the snickers from his classmates.

“And how does this apply to our lives now?” Mr. Brunner asks.

“I don’t know.” Percy answers.

Mr. Brunner nods and dismisses them to lunch. He holds Percy back for a minute and gives him the “I expect more from you” speech. Which is completely unfair because Percy is  _ trying _ . But he just says something about doing better before going to lunch.

On his way out of the museum, Percy sees Orpheus standing in front of one of the artifacts, frozen. As he walks closer, he sees that it’s a painting of a red flower. Percy doesn’t understand why Orpheus seems so caught up in it.

“Are you okay?” Percy asks.

Orpheus turns around, a strange look on his face. It sort of looks like Percy’s mom when he asks her about his dad. A second later, the expression is gone, and Orpheus laughs. “Yeah, I’m fine. That just reminded me of something.”

“Oh, okay,” Percy says. He suddenly feels awkward, “I’ll just-” He gestures behind him. Orpheus nods, and Percy leaves.

Percy finds Grover outside. They sit together, chatting. Everything’s alright until Nancy Bobofit decides to come over and bully Grover.

Percy tries to control his temper, he really does. But before he knows it, Nancy is sitting in the water fountain, complaining that Percy shoved her.

A second later, Mrs. Dodds is there. Percy stifles a groan, he’s not looking forward to another month of detention. She stares at him before saying, “Come with me.” 

A voice next to him says, “Mind if I join?” Percy looks over and sees Orpheus there. He hadn’t noticed him there at all.

Mrs. Dodds frowns, “I don’t think-”

“Great,” Orpheus says, cutting her off, “Let’s go.” He bounds up the stairs after Mrs. Dodds.

Percy looks back at Grover, who seems really pale now. And then at Mr. Brunner, who’s absorbed in a book. He sighs and follows Mrs. Dodds and Orpheus.

They get inside, and Percy expects Mrs. Dodds to make him buy something for Nancy. To make up for her being soaked. But she just leads them back into the exhibit with the stele. She makes a strange sound, and Percy is suddenly afraid.

“We know what you’ve done, Percy Jackson,” She says, “DId you think you’d get away with it?”

Percy glances over at Orpheus. He looks suspicious of Mrs. Dodds. Percy’s glad that he’s not the only one who thinks there’s something weird going on.

“I’m sorry ma’am,” Percy says, for lack of anything else, “But I don’t understand-”

Then something strange happens. Mrs. Dodds transforms into, into some kind of creature. She looks inhuman. She looks like she’s going to kill Percy.

Mrs. Dodds screams and lunges at Percy, he jumps out of the way. Orpheus takes out his guitar and starts playing, Percy doesn’t really think this is the time for that, but to each his own.

“La la la la la la la.” Orpheus sings. And for a second, Mrs. Dodds freezes.

“Percy!” Percy hears someone shout. He whips his head around to see Mr. Brunner, throwing a ballpoint pen at him. He catches the pen on reflex, and it turns into some kind of sword.

At that moment, Mrs. Dodds slips out of her trance. She pounces towards Percy, and he doesn’t think, just swings. And then she’s gone, and yellow dust is raining down on him.

Percy looks around. Mr. Brunner is gone, and Orpheus is walking out of the room. “What was that?” Percy calls out.

Orpheus pauses, glancing back, “What was what?”

“I-” Percy starts and then stops, “Nothing.”

“You sure?” Orpheus asks. Percy nods and Orpheus leaves, humming under his breath.

Percy looks at the sword in his hand. But all he’s holding is a normal pen. Did he really hallucinate the whole thing?

He walks outside, confused. Percy makes a beeline for where Grover is sitting. Nancy yells something at Percy about a “Mrs. Kerr.” Percy has no idea who she’s talking about.

“Where’s Mrs. Dodds?” Percy asks Grover.

Grover pretends not to know who Percy is talking about. And okay, Percy is willing to believe that he imagined what happened in the exhibit, but not that he made up a whole  _ person _ .

Percy spots Mr. Brunner out of the corner of his eye. He’ll know what’s happening. Percy goes over to Mr. Brunner, who looks up from his book.

“There’s my pen,” Mr. Brunner says, “Do consider bringing your own next time.” He reaches out a hand. Percy hands over the pen.

“What happened to Mrs. Dodds?” Percy asks.

But Mr. Brunner just looks confused, “I don’t know any ‘Mrs. Dodds’.”

This is just too weird. Percy looks around wildly, searching for answers. He sees Orpheus, standing far away from everyone else. Percy jogs towards him.

“Orpheus,” He says, “Please tell me you know Mrs. Dodds.”

“Sorry, I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Orpheus looks genuinely confused, “Are you alright?”

Percy is about to give up when he remembers something, “What about that tune. La la la la la la la la, or something like that.” 

Orpheus looks surprised. He looks at Percy for an uncomfortable amount of time before saying, “I see.” He walks away, leaving Percy with a million questions.


	2. Chapter 2

Percy sighs and throws down his book. The words keep on swimming through his head, and he can’t figure them out. It doesn’t even matter if he gets a good grade on this test, he’s getting expelled anyways. But even so, he doesn’t want to leave with Mr. Brunner thinking he hadn’t tried.

The last few months have been weird. Everyone seems determined to pretend Mrs. Dodds never existed. Like Percy is the one who’s crazy for being the only person who remembers their pre-algebra teacher. Percy’s almost convinced he is.

Percy picks up the book again and tries to study, but it’s to no avail. All the names are already similar, and his ADHD and Dyslexia are making it even harder to keep them straight. Maybe, Percy thinks, maybe just this once he could ask the teacher for help.

He heads downstairs, towards the faculty offices. However, when Percy gets closer to Mr Brunner’s, he can hear a conversation already happening. He’s about to turn around and resign himself to his terrible grade when he hears Grover inside, saying his name. 

Percy listens to the conversation, but can’t make any sense of it. It’s something about “Kindly Ones,” and a “Summer Solstice deadline.” The only thing that Percy can understand is the fact that he’s apparently in danger.

The book falls out of Percy’s hand and makes a loud  _ thud _ . The voices inside stop. Percy picks up the book as quickly as he can before slipping into a room behind him.

He had assumed the room was empty, but when Percy turns around, he sees Orpheus sitting there.

“What are you doing here?” Percy asks.

“This is my office.” Orpheus replies, he looks a little amused.

“Oh,” Percy feels stupid, then he remembers why he came downstairs in the first place, “Umm could you help me prepare for this test?”

“Sure,” Orpheus smiles, “Sit down.”

Percy sits, he’s never seen Orpheus’ office before. He looks around and sees that there’s not really anything personal there. The office is a boring shade of gray, and all the paintings are ones that might be at Ikea. The only thing that seems to belong to Orpheus is his guitar, which is currently propped up against a wall. Percy looks back at the desk. There’s sheet music there, scribbled out and rewritten so many times the notes look like a dark blur. There are words written in the margins, although Percy can only make out “Hades.”

“So,” Orpheus says, “What would you like to know?”

“I just,” Percy pauses, “I just don’t really get anything.”

“Okay.” Orpheus says, and starts talking.

He tells Percy about all the stuff they’ve learned, and he somehow manages to make it interesting. Like Mr. Brunner, he talks like he actually knew some of these people. But instead of just saying what happened, he talks about the motivations. Why Medea killed Jason’s kids, and why Athena challenged Arachne. It makes a lot more sense than just reading it from the book did. 

By the time Percy leaves, he feels a lot more confident about the test.

“Thank you.” He tells Orpheus as he gets up from his chair.

Orpheus just nods at Percy before picking up one of the pages of sheet music and writing something on top.

Percy gets back to his room and sees Grover sitting on his bed. He suddenly remembers the conversation he’d overheard. He ignores Grover asking about the test and lies down.

The next day, the test goes better than Percy had thought it would. He stills misspells a lot of names, and mixes up the conjugations, but he manages to keep the events and stories in order.

As Percy’s leaving, Mr. Brunner opens his mouth to say something. But when Orpheus shakes his head, Mr. Brunner closes his mouth and just smiles at Percy.

The end of the term can’t come soon enough. Percy’s managed to scrape his Latin grade up to a B, but he has Fs in all his other classes. And in the fall, he’ll have to start his seventh school in seven years.

The rest of the boys talk about their summer plans to far off places. Percy tunes them out and thinks of how happy he’ll be to see his mom. Even if he’ll also have to put up with Gabe and his friends.

The ride home is boring, but at least Percy has Grover to talk to. Percy’s going to miss him next year, even though Grover has obviously been keeping secrets from him. Orpheus is in the seat in front of them, taking a nap. Apparently he lives pretty close to Percy.

The bus stalls and then stops. The bus driver ushers everyone off as he tries to figure out what’s wrong.

They’re in the middle of nowhere. The only thing in sight is a fruit stand across four lanes of traffic. Sitting there are three ladies, they’re wearing matching gray clothes, and seem to be knitting a giant pair of socks. There’s something odd about them. They have the same kind of presence that Mrs. Dodds did, but more intense somehow.

The lady in the middle looks up at Percy. Next to him, Grover freaks out. He tries to get Percy to go back onto the bus. Percy refuses because it’s super hot in there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy sees Orpheus. He’s also staring at the ladies. Although, for some reason, Orpheus looks  _ angry _ . Like he knows them somehow.

There’s a loud  _ snip _ as the lady in the middle cuts a piece of yarn. Grover’s face pales.

A few seconds later, the bus driver manages to fix whatever the problem was. They all get back on the bus.

Grover starts muttering under his breath, he asks if he can walk Percy back home. Percy agrees, but, “I’m sure whatever you’re worried about isn’t that big a deal, right Orpheus?”

Orpheus looks up at his name, but doesn’t say anything. He stays silent for the rest of the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't really feeling this chapter, but I hope y'all like it


	3. interlude: a girl walks into a bar

Orpheus takes a cab home from the train station. Percy Jackson doesn’t notice him, too busy trying to dodge his friend.

There is something… not normal about Percy and Grover. They seem to be aware of the way the world works in a way few mortals are. Though, Orpheus has a suspicion that neither of them are entirely mortal. And now that he thinks about it, that teacher he worked with probably isn’t either.

Orpheus sighs, he can’t wait to get back to the bar. Mr. Hermes had told him to take the job, claiming it would fill Orpheus’ time and help him get inspiration for his song. However, Mr. Hermes hadn’t mentioned that Orpheus would have to help fight a Harpy. Or lie to a middle schooler about it.

The cab stops. Orpheus gets out and walks towards the bar. Today it’s here, tomorrow it will be somewhere completely different. Mr. Hermes always says that it moves with the railroad.

The bar is nearly empty when Orpheus enters. The only other people in it are Mr. Hermes and Persephone, who he knows arrived a week earlier. Mr. Hermes waves at Orpheus while refilling Persephone’s cup.

As Orpheus passes them, he can hear a snippet of their conversation.

“I’ve tried to tell him that there’s no way a twelve year old boy could pull that off, but nooooo-” Persephone says, downing her glass in one go.

Mr. Hermes gives her a sympathetic look before pouring more wine in.

Orpheus takes a seat at the corner of the bar. He pulls out his lyre and his music and tries to figure out the song. Lately, the seasons have gotten more polarizing. Winters are frigid, and summers are blazing. Spring and fall have all but disappeared. Orpheus’ song is going to change that. It’s going to bring balance back to the world. If he can just figure out the words.

The door opens and then closes again. Orpheus looks up and sees a girl. In that moment he thinks that she’s probably the most beautiful girl to ever exist.

Orpheus stands up and walks over to her. On the way, he grabs a red flower from a vase. It’s strange, he doesn’t even know her name, but his heart recognizes her.

Mr. Hermes intercepts him on the way there. “Play it cool,” He says in a low voice. As if he knows Orpheus is already mentally composing love songs to the girl.

The girl looks up as Orpheus approaches. She’s sitting at a table with a glass of ice water, fanning herself with a napkin.

“Hello,” Orpheus says. She looks up.

“Who are you?”

“The man who’s gonna marry you,” Orpheus says. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Mr. Hermes facepalm, “I’m Orpheus.”

The girl looks surprised, but she still responds, “I’m Eurydice.”

“Your name is like a melody,” Orpheus thinks of all the songs he could write for her.

“Oh I see,” Eurydice says, narrowing her eyes, “You’re a singer.”

“I also play the lyre.”

Mr. Hermes sighs and chimes in, “Tell her what you’re working on Orpheus.”

Orpheus talks about his song. How it’s going to fix what’s broken in the world and bring back spring and fall. Eurydice’s eyes widen as he talks, her expression turns hopeful. “Become my wife,” Orpheus finishes. He bends down on one knee and holds out the flower.

Eurydice laughs, “You’re crazy. Why would I marry you?”

“I can make you feel alive,” Orpheus says, for a second something feels off. Like he’s in a play and he’s just said a line that belongs to someone else. But he shakes off the feeling and gazes up at Eurydice with hopeful eyes.

Eurydice takes the flower and smiles at him, “Alive? That’s worth a lot. What else you got?”

Their moment is interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Orpheus looks over and sees Mr. Hermes talking into the old landline at the front of the bar. Persephone, who had fallen asleep at some point, jolts awake at the sound. She lifts her head for a second before laying it back down, sleeping again.

“Are you sure?” Mr. Hermes asks, “So soon. What am I supposed to- Yes. Yes I know, but I have things to- I understand but this is important. Well then who’ll watch over- Are you serious? I can’t- Fine.” Mr. Hermes slams the receiver to the wall and turns to face Orpheus.

“Have I ever told you about Camp Half-Blood?”

Orpheus vaguely recalls that it’s the camp for demigods on Long Island. He’s not exactly sure if he would qualify as one, his father being Apollo and his mother being Calliope.

“Yes.” Orpheus says, he’s not sure why Mr. Hermes is bringing this subject up.

“Well I have business to attend to,” Mr. Hermes says, “So I’ll need you to stay there for a few days.”

“But what about Eurydice?” Orpheus has only just met her, but he thinks that being parted from her would be the most painful thing he’s ever endured.

“She can go too,” Mr. Hermes says, “That is, assuming she wants to.”

Orpheus looks over to Eurydice. She looks conflicted. A few emotions cross her face, so fast that Orpheus can’t tell them apart. Finally, she nods.

Mr. Hermes nods and opens the door to the bar. The location has changed. Outside is what looks like a fairly secluded area. There are barely any houses, and the most distinguishing feature of the area is a large pine tree in the distance. Closer, there’s what looks like the aftermath of a bad car crash.

“I’ll see you around,” Mr. Hermes says, “Maybe it’ll turn out this time.” He snaps his fingers and then he’s gone.

Orpheus looks at Eurydice. She grabs his hand and squeezes it, “Lead the way.”

Orpheus smiles at her and lets go of her hand. He walks out of the bar and makes his way towards the pine tree. Every few steps, he glances back to make sure she’s following.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated twice in one day because I was bored.


	4. Chapter 4

“The next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently-” Mr. D stops in the middle of his sentence. He stares at something over Percy’s shoulder, looking almost surprised, which is strange. Percy wouldn’t have thought gods _ could _ be surprised.

Percy looks behind him and sees Orpheus standing there, next to some girl. And okay. Did everyone at Yancy know about this camp? Is Nancy Bobofit going to show up and reveal herself to be one of Ares’ kids? _ Well _ , Percy things, _ she’d certainly fit right in with Clarisse and the others _.

“Young man,” Mr. D says, “Didn’t my Maenads tear you apart?” Which, Percy supposes, is one way to start a conversation.

For a second, Orpheus looks like he has a really bad headache, but then his expression clears, “You must have me confused for someone else.”

Mr. D is about to reply to that, but Chiron cuts him off, “Orpheus, what are you doing here?”

“Mr H-,” Orpheus looks over at Percy’s table and freezes for a second before restarting his sentence, “My guardian sent us here. He said that he has something to take care of.”

Chiron turns to look at the girl, who’s now holding hands with Orpheus, “And who are you?” He asks. Although for some reason, Percy gets the feeling that Chiron already knows.

“I’m Eurydice,” The girl says. For some reason, the words seem to make Chiron sad.

“Well then,” Mr. D says, interrupting the awkward silence that had fallen over everyone, “Are you all just going to sit there catching flies. Go to your singalong.”

For a second nobody moves. But in the next moment, people start cheering and everyone heads to the amphitheater.

The Apollo kids lead the singalong. It’s fun and silly. The songs are easy enough to learn and nobody cares how out of tune they are.

Orpheus and Eurydice sit next to Percy, who’s glad not to be the only new person at the camp. Orpheus pulls out an old guitar from… somewhere, and starts to play the song tunes with the Apollo kids. Percy thinks he might know who Orpheus’ godly parent is. That is, if Orpheus _ is _a demigod. On the other side of Percy, Eurydice smiles and snacks on some cookies that she must have taken from the dining area.

Percy looks over at Annabeth, a few seats away from him. She looks completely in her element, which makes sense. After all, she’s been here longer than almost everyone. Annabeth catches Percy’s staring and instead of glaring at him, she just smiles. Like they’re friends. For the first time that day, Percy starts to think that Camp Half-Blood could be home.

.

.

.

As Percy walks back to Cabin 11, he talks with Eurydice. Chiron pulled Orpheus aside to discuss something a few minutes ago, Grover is still talking with Mr. D (Percy hopes everything turns out okay), and Annabeth has to go back to her own cabin. That leaves Percy alone with Eurydice.

“So,” Percy says, “How do you know Orpheus?”

“We’re engaged.” Eurydice replies, nonchalant.

Percy is surprised. He would have thought that Orpheus would be the type to talk about his fiancée. Or at least mention that he has one. After all, Orpheus had once spent an entire Latin class talking about how cool his adopted father’s shoes are instead of teaching them about Hermes. When Mr. Brun- Chiron had found out, he had just rubbed his temples and muttered something about poets.

“When did you two meet?” Percy asks.

“Today.” Eurydice smiles.

Percy tries to stop his shock from showing, but Eurydice must see it on his face since she laughs and says, “I know it seems like we’re moving fast, but it feels like Orpheus is someone I’ve always known. I’ve spent a long time just keeping my head down, going any way the wind blows. But with him…” She trails off and smiles to herself.

They walk the rest of the way in silence. But it’s not awkward or tense, it’s more friendly than anything else.

Orpheus is waiting when they get back to the Cabin. He runs up to Eurydice as soon as he sees her.

“Chiron said we could stay in one of the cottages at the edge of the camp.”

“That’s great,” Eurydice matches his grin. However, a second later, her expression turns serious, “But what will we do to protect against the wind?”

Percy doesn’t know what she’s talking about. It’s the middle of summer, there’s no wind. Eurydice seems to realize this since after a moment she shakes her head and says, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that. Let’s go.”

Orpheus and Eurydice walk away, holding hands. Percy watches them go, a little disgusted at the PDA. He gets that they’re engaged, but they don’t need to act like a couple in some romance movie.

Percy walks into Cabin 11. Everybody is getting ready for bed, although when Percy looks around he can’t spot Luke anywhere. Some people wave at Percy as he walks past. It’s like Percy is no longer the weird, new kid. It feels good. 

The only thing that could make this better would be having his mom here. Or at least knowing she’s okay. But it’s fine. Percy _ will _get her back, whatever it takes. Even if he has to go to the Underworld to do it.

That night, Percy has a strange dream. He dreams of a large city, surrounded by a towering wall. Workers flit around, tired but unable to stop working. In the middle of everything, there’s a man, dark and imposing. The man sits on a chromium throne, next to an identical empty one. He barks an instruction out at someone before looking straight at Percy and sneering. “_Bring it back_,” A voice in Percy’s head whispers, “_Or else_.” The man snaps his fingers, and the dream changes.

The next day, when Percy wakes up, he doesn’t remember the dream. Nevertheless, he spends the rest of the day feeling uneasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this instead of studying for my math test, oops. Also thanks to everyone who leaves comments/kudos. Y'all keep me motivated :).


	5. Chapter 5

The week goes by fairly quickly, and by the end of it there’s an air of anticipation surrounding the entire camp. Percy had asked Grover about it, who told him that Capture the Flag is happening soon.

It starts as soon as dinner finishes. The teams are Athena vs Ares. Luke tells him a little about the game, and by the time he’s done, Percy is also excited. Although he’s not sure what to expect. Percy has played Capture the Flag a grand total of once before, and it hadn’t ended well. The less that is said about what exactly happened, the better. Though Percy suspects that the demigod version might be a little different.

Percy turns to Orpheus and Eurydice, who are standing next to him. He doesn’t see them much during the day, but they eat dinner with everyone in the dining area. It’s nice to have people Percy knows there. Over the week he’s gotten to know some people, but it’s clear they still think of him as the newbie.

“Are you guys going to do the game?” Percy asks.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Orpheus and Eurydice speak at the same time. They look at each other for a second before Eurydice speaks.

“I want to do it.” She says.

Orpheus smiles, “Then I’ll sit out and cheer you on.”

They split up into teams. Percy and Eurydice are both with Athena. Chiron explains the rules, and everyone gets weapons. Percy gets handed a sword and shield that are way too big for him, and Eurydice picks up a hefty looking axe. Percy gives her a questioning look and she grins.

“If I can chop firewood, I should be able to hold my own here.”

Percy nods and catches up with Annabeth. He tries to talk to her, but she just brushes him off, focused only on winning the game.

Percy and Eurydice are delegated to patrolling the border of their territory. Percy thinks it’s just a way to keep the new people from messing everything up.

A few minutes after the game begins, there’s a low growling sound from deeper in the woods. Percy gets a feeling like there’s something following them.

He looks at Eurydice to see if she heard the sound, but she’s standing stock still, a weird expression on her face.

Suddenly she takes off running after the sound. Percy thinks he can hear her screaming “Hades” as she leaves.

Percy is alone when the Ares kids come. Clarisse is evidently still mad about the toilet incident. They attack him and Percy thinks he may actually die. But things change when Percy steps into the creek, he gets a sudden burst of energy and manages to take out Clarisse and her friends.

The conch shell sounds, and Percy looks up to see that Luke has brought over the Ares flag and won the game. It’s at that moment that Percy realizes he was only put on the border as a distraction. It feels kind of rotten.

Percy is about to step out of the creek when he hears Annabeth’s voice. He looks around but she’s nowhere to be seen.

“Great job.” Annabeth says, and suddenly Percy can see her. She’s holding a baseball cap in one hand and a knife in the other.

“You used me to make a trap,” Percy says. 

“It’s like I said,” Annabeth smiles, “Athena always has a plan.”

“A plan to get me killed,” Percy mutters.

“Well you handled it well enough. Hey, what-” Annabeth is interrupted by a loud growling sound. The same one Percy had heard before.

A large dog comes out from behind a clump of trees. It’s pure black and looks like something from a nightmare. The demigods all turn to face it, weapons up. Chiron is standing there too, brandishing his bow and arrow.

The dog leaps at Percy, and he sees his life flash before his eyes. But then Eurydice leaps in from out of nowhere. She lands in a crouch and springs up, cutting the dog’s head off with a quick, clean thrust of her axe.

“What was that?” Percy asks.

“A hellhound,” Chiron says gravely, “From Hades.”

Orpheus comes running in, “I heard a noise. What hap-” He pauses when he sees Eurydice and rushes over to her. “Are you okay?”

Eurydice smiles, “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Thank you,” Chiron says to her, “It’s not everyone who can kill a creature of such darkness.”

“You’re welcome.” Eurydice replies. She looks a bit uncomfortable with the praise.

“Is someone going to explain to me what’s going on?” Percy steps out of the creek and immediately feels faint. He sways a bit and Annabeth reaches out a hand to steady him.

“A hellhound in Camp means someone must have summoned it.” Chiron says.

“Percy summoned it.” Clarisse called out. Which is a pretty stupid thing to say, since the dog had tried to  _ kill  _ Percy.

Chiron seems to agree. “Hush, child.” He says. “We must figure out why this has happened.”

Percy feels like he’s about to fall over. All of the pain from before catching up to him. Annabeth gives him a shrewd look.

“Percy, get back in the creek.” Annabeth says.

“What? Why?”

“Just get back in.”

Percy gets back in. He immediately feels a thousand times better. A gasp comes up from the crowd. Percy’s about to say something, apologize maybe, because if something’s wrong it’s probably his fault, when he notices everyone kneeling. Even the Ares kids. Even Orpheus and Eurydice. 

“What is it?” He asks. It feels like he’s out of the loop a lot lately.

“I thought it would be Zeus,” Annabeth says, shaking her head, “Not this.”

Percy is getting tired of everyone speaking cryptically. He is about to demand someone clue him in when Orpheus speaks.

“Percy. Look up.”

Percy does. Above his head is a symbol. Fading, but still visible. It’s a trident, green and spinning. A second later, it’s gone. 

“All hail Perseus Jackson,” Chiron says, “Son of Poseidon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoys the mental image of Eurydice slaying a hellhound. Also, the quest is coming up, and things will start getting spicy.


	6. Chapter 6

After Capture the Flag, things move fast. Chiron makes Percy move into the Poseidon Cabin, which is fine, it's not like Percy was  _ just  _ starting to feel accepted or anything. And then Percy gets called up to Mr. D’s office and told to go on a quest. At which point he has to visit the creepy Oracle who gives him the most ominous prophecy ever. So now Percy has to go on a stupid quest to the stupid Underworld or else the world will end. At least he’ll be able to save his mom, no matter what that prophecy says.

Percy is standing under the tree with Annabeth and Grover standing next to him, taking what may be his last look at camp. He still hasn’t exactly processed everything. He’s just arrived at Camp Half-Blood and now he has to go, has to possibly die for something he was never involved in.

“We should go.” Annabeth says. She looks sad, but also excited. Of course, she actually  _ wants  _ this. Wants a chance to prove herself. She’d even volunteered for this quest. Percy can’t really see why, but he’s glad she’s coming along.

“Yeah.” Percy sighs, looking at Grover, who nods. They start to move towards the car.

Percy stops when he hears a shout. “Wait!” He looks over and sees Orpheus and Eurydice running down the hill, Orpheus carrying his guitar and Eurydice pulling a suitcase behind her.

“We’re coming with you.” Orpheus says as he and Eurydice finally reach the tree.

“What-” Percy starts to ask, Chiron interrupts him.

“Have you two thought this through?”

Eurydice nods. “We know what we’re in for.”

“Alright.” Chiron says. “I hope your story ends well, truly.” And with those cryptic words, he turns and gallops away. 

The five of them walk to the car. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover exchanging confused glances. This quest has already started going differently than they expected. When they reach the car, Orpheus calls out.

“Argus, I can drive,” Eurydice glares at him, Orpheus amends his sentence, “Eurydice can drive.”

Argus nods and throws the keys to Eurydice, who catches them with one hand. “Get in,” she says, “I’ll start the car.”

“Where are we going?” She asks once everyone is seated.

Orpheus closes his eyes for a second. “Virginia.”

Annabeth gasps. Percy looks at her, she’s gone pale. “Are you okay?” He starts to ask, but she just waves him off.

“Why are we going to Virginia?” Grover asks, “The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles.”

“We need to pick up some things first.” Is all Orpheus says. Which explains nothing, but Orpheus seems to know what he’s doing, which is more than Percy can say.

Being on a quest is less eventful than Percy would think. By the time they cross the border with New Jersey, he’s already bored. Annabeth is playing a crossword puzzle in a newspaper that had been in the official quest backpack they’d been provided. Grover is taking a nap, occasionally muttering, “enchiladas,” as he sleeps. Orpheus and Eurydice are talking about something in the front.

Percy leans over to Annabeth, speaking in a low tone, “What’s so bad about Virginia?”

“What?” Annabeth asks, pencil stopping in the middle of a word.

“Your reaction when Orpheus said where we’re going,” Percy explains, “Are there a lot of monsters there or something?”

“Drop it.” Annabeth squeezes the pencil so tight that Percy’s surprised it doesn’t break.

“But-”

“I said drop it seaweed brain!” Orpheus and Eurydice’s conversation stops.

“Everything okay back there?” Eurydice calls out.

“Yes,” Annabeth says, “How far away are we?”

“Still a few hours. We can stop soon to take a break.”

Grover wakes up then, stomach growling. Percy starts questioning him. About the Underworld and Hades and how they’re going to accomplish their quest.

Eurydice pulls into a rest station. They all get out, Annabeth heads to the bathroom, and Grover makes a beeline for one of the food shops. Percy turns to Orpheus and Eurydice, wanting to ask them something, when he senses something. It’s a feeling, one that Percy has learned to trust by now, of danger. He scans the area. There.

Sitting at one of the tables is Mrs. Dodds, it’s her, somehow. Sitting next to her are two other women who look almost exactly like her.

Percy makes eye contact with Grover, and Annabeth, who just exited the restroom. He doesn’t know what they can do. One Mrs. Dodds was bad enough, but three of them…

“Furies.” Eurydice whispers from beside Percy. 

“What can we do?” Riptide burns in Percy’s pocket. He looks over at Grover again, inching towards Percy. Annabeth seems to have disappeared, she must have put on her baseball cap.

The Furies stand, Mrs. Dodds stares right at Percy. He takes a breath, pulling Riptide out and uncapping it, it’s now or never.

Orpheus seems to get the same idea. He lifts up his guitar and plays, the same melody that had distracted Mrs. Dodds before. “La la la la la la la.”

Percy runs at the Furies, he can hear Eurydice a few steps behind him. One of the Furies stands and dives at Percy. He swipes and she turns into dust. Two left. Another one combusts, Percy makes a mental note to thank Annabeth later. That leaves one. Mrs. Dodds.

“Over here.” Eurydice says, waving her arms. 

Mrs. Dodds hisses, diving at her. Right before she connects, Grover throws a soda can on her. She turns, launching herself towards him instead. Eurydice yells something else and Mrs. Dodds turns to her.

A voice comes from next to Percy. Annabeth. “They’re doing a good job of distracting her. We have to charge.”

Percy nods. Orpheus’ melody gets louder, seeming to fill the whole room. Mrs. Dodds pauses. Percy runs, he can feel Annabeth’s presence beside him. Together they skewer Mrs. Dodds. A second passes before she explodes, golden dust covering the entire room.

Annabeth takes off her hat, becoming visible. “Did we just-”

“Best the Furies,” Grover completes, “Yep.”

It seems that this quest won’t be so boring after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not forsaken this fic. Also any canonical errors have been made on purpose because I am tired and don't want to stick to canon details. If you like this, please kudos or leave comment. They are the source of my motivation.

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue is stolen/paraphrased from the Lightning Thief. For the most part, this sticks close to the first chapter. But soon, things will start changing more.


End file.
